Will Men Ever Embrace The Spa Experience?
Spas have become as much part of a woman’s life as Chablis and Chanel, even in these cash strapped times a facial or massage is a treat for us equivalent to our mothers going for a shampoo and set. Yet men – despite the Becks effect which encouraged them to embrace moisturiser and, yes, even comb their hair once in a while – seem as doggedly against the spa as ever before.
There are hundreds of reasons why your average lad avoids these places like the plague (unless dragged along by a girlfriend intent on be-robed romance). From the girls on the reception desk who most men are convinced are giggling at them to the downright fear that their naked flesh being touched by a woman or, heaven forbid, a man may cause erm…unwanted side-effects. Many men, perhaps more used to the footballers favourite sports massage, compare your average pummelling to being tickled by a feather. Less enjoyment than buttock clenching embarrassment as the therapist works her way over your sensitive spots. And that’s not even to mention the paper pants, too short robes and feminine choice of slippers which most spas hand out and most women now seem to embrace with the enthusiasm usually reserved for a new pair of Jimmy Choos.
Then there are the less obvious annoyances. The wishy washy new age music, the smell of lavender and rose and other girly aromas, the whispering and the spa restaurants which appear to offer very little in the way of burgers and chips. It’s enough to make even the most in-touch-with-his-feminine-side male go running for the nearest spit and sawdust pub showing football and serving Stella.
Yet in other countries, and indeed in other times, the male species embraced and still embrace a good rub down. Though this may be less a cultural phenomenon than the fact that there’s nothing in the least sissy about being thrown about the room by a sweaty, twenty-five stone Turk until your bones seem to have all the hardiness of a Stretch Armstrong doll.
Turkish Baths do exist in the UK but, more often than not, are accompanied by a slightly seedy atmosphere and the distinct feeling that you may not leave alive. However these are not the only option for a more manly spa experience. While most spas reserve a token two treatment space on their price list for the chaps, Elemis offer a wide range of relaxing and useful treatments for men while their day spas are simple in and out affairs, devoid of robes and all that sitting about with a cup of green tea. Even better is London’s Gentlemen’s Tonic, which has an old school vibe and, in addition to Reiki, Reflexology and massages, offers barbers shop favourites including the closest wet shave you’re likely to find outside of Sweeney Todd’s. Who said pampering was for girls?
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